RFK Jr dismisses campaign aide advocating beating Biden as top goal

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign fired an employee after she misrepresented her role in the campaign and claimed that beating President Joe Biden in 2024 was the “No. 1 priority.”

The campaign director for Kennedy’s independent race claimed on Wednesday night they “immediately terminated” employee Rita Palma after a video of her comments on Biden came under scrutiny.

“We terminated her contract for misrepresentation immediately upon seeing the longer video in which she gave an inaccurate job title and described a conversation that did not happen,” Kennedy’s campaign director and daughter-in-law Amaryllis Fox Kennedy posted to X.

It is not clear when the termination occurred, but the video attracted attention earlier this week.

In the video, Palma stated she used to be a supporter of former President Donald Trump, but he lost her support because of his stance on vaccinations. Kennedy has long been skeptical when it comes to vaccines, which garnered attention during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Whether you support Bobby or Trump, we all oppose Biden. And my thoughts are that, you know, that’s the No. 1 priority in the country,” Palma said.

Palma also claimed she was the New York state director for the Kennedy campaign, which Fox-Kennedy disputed and called her a “ballot access consultant.”

“As an independent movement, our supporters, volunteers, and field organizers come from all sides of the political spectrum and their reasons for supporting Kennedy are as disparate as their backgrounds,” the campaign said in a statement after the video. “She is not involved in electoral strategy, nationally or in New York. This was not a campaign event. Palma was speaking as a private citizen and her statements in no way reflect the strategy of the Kennedy campaign, which is to win the White House with votes from former Trump and Biden supporters alike.”

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Palma confirmed her split from the campaign in text messages to NBC News but said she still supports Kennedy and that her time with the campaign “has been one of the best political adventures of my life filled with some of the finest people I’ve encountered, and I have encountered many.”

“I hold no ill will and look forward to the next seven months of watching Bobby shine,” she added.